Heart of a Ninja
by Daemon spades
Summary: Naruto, lost as his world fell to Darkness, Meets a person who helps him through it all. Watch (or read, your preference) as he becomes the first ever Ninja Keyblade Master.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. It's Daemon bringing you all, another crossover. I have adopted this from my fellow author pain17ification, and the original concept for the fanfiction goes to him. All I can say is I'll try to do you proud.

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

"Kurama Talking/Techniques"

(Translations and A.N. Numbers)

[Scene Shift]

Chapter 1: Meeting in the Darkness

The sound of waves hitting the shore was the first thing he heard as he woke up. His body was wracked with pain and it hurt to even twitch or breathe. What happened and where was he? Why was he hearing the sound of water when he was nowhere near it?

He slowly opened up his eyes, revealing bright blue irises to the world, and painfully sat up. The first thing he saw was the dark sand of the shore. It wasn't a natural tan or even a rare white, it was a dark gray. He turned his gaze and saw the sea, but the water was as black as night and the only source of light in the area was a silvery moon on the horizon. He kept moving his gaze and saw that he was next to a rock face and that thorn like structures stretched over the water, but they didn't go that far.

What was this place? Why didn't he feel anything from it? All he felt was emptiness and pain, though the latter was because of his still healing injuries. He made to rub his head, but he stopped when he felt something move within his grasp. He looked down to his right hand and gaped at what he was holding.

It was…a weapon? He didn't know, but it sure looked like one. The handle was a dark red, almost like blood, and had a guard that surrounded his hand. The guard was a bright orange and had a silver chain on the bottom of it that had a keychain at the end. The keychain was in the design of a red swirl with a black outline on it. From the top of the handle, a black blade stretched for about three feet and a black fox head protruded from the side at the top of the blade. The fox head's eyes had red sclera, a bright orange iris, and a black slit pupil.

A voice whispered in his head and echoed, " _KeyBlade…_ "

His brow rose slightly in confusion. Key…Blade? What was a KeyBlade? And why did he apparently have one. He closed his eyes and tried to speak to his friend, but they widened in shock when he couldn't hear anything. The voice he had grown accustomed to hearing from within his mind was gone and where his friend once resided in his mind was empty.

What was going on here? First he wakes up on a dark shore, then he apparently has a weapon known as the KeyBlade, and now he can't hear or talk to his last known friend.

He then closed his eyes in thought and tried to remember what happened before he woke up here. The last thing he remembered…

[Flashback]

He was panting and nearly out of energy as he stood before the last two Uchiha; Obito and Sasuke who tricked him, giving him a long cut along his side from his version of the kusanagi-no-tsuguri. His clothes were torn, his headband destroyed, and his skin riddled in cuts and bruises. Of course, the two Uchiha weren't much better and Obito had his Sharingan cut into, making it useless; so that was a plus.

Kurama, the Kyuubi no Yoko and his last surviving friend, had given him all of the energy he could take and it was barely enough to take down the Gedō Mazō (Demonic Outer Statue) and the chakra it had stored within it. Now, he barely had half of his reserves left and Kurama was focusing on regaining his own lost power.

"It's over for you, Naruto," Obito said calmly. "You may have stopped the Gedō Mazō, but I will still rid this world of its precious light!"

"This is the end for you, dobe," Sasuke stated as his **Susano'o** (God of Storms) surrounded him with its dark and corrupted power. He laughed manically and said "You couldn't even save your friends from death, much less the world."

Uzumaki Naruto lowered his head as tears welled from his eyes. The war…the Fourth Great War had taken its toll on everyone and left him with no one but the fox sealed within him. His friends, his precious people, were all gone or close to gone. He couldn't save them, even if he desperately wished to. _'How did it come to this, Kurama?'_

" **I don't know, Naruto… Perhaps…Darkness is the real source of power in the world…"**

Naruto clenched his fists in anger as he rose to his feet. His head was still down, with the bangs of his golden blonde hair shadowing his blue eyes. _'No… Darkness can't be the real source of power. It may seem that way since this world is being plunged into it, but even in the deepest Darkness…Light shines on through!'_

With that though, power exploded from him; power he didn't have before. Where before his chakra was a bright blue, it was now nearly white and shone brightly throughout the battle field with its glow.

' _This power… Where is it coming from? It feels so warm…so bright,'_ Obito thought in confusion as he readied his war fan and Sasuke readied an arrow with his **Susano'o**.

' _Kurama…do you feel it?'_ Naruto asked his tenant suddenly.

" **Yea, I do… It feels like Darkness is engulfing this world and this power you've tapped into is holding it back; but it doesn't look like it will last forever…"**

' _Yea… I figured as much. But it looks like its pooling around the two of them,'_ he commented while referring to the Uchiha.

The Bijuu hummed in thought as it looked through Naruto's eyes and saw dark puddles form near the two Uchiha. From the Darkness, two glowing yellow orbs appeared in each and began to rise from the puddles. The Darkness took shape and form and stood behind the two Uchiha with its head tilted in wonder.

It had a round, spherical head with circular, glowing yellow eyes. It also had two long, twisted antennae sprouting out of the top of its head. Each of its hands had three clawed fingers, and its feet were large and lacked any discernible digits. With the exception of its eyes, the body was completely black and blended in with the shadows easily.

Before the Uchiha knew it, the creatures began to latch onto them and were unaffected by the retaliatory strikes that were launched. Even the **Susano'o** proved ineffective as the creature simply phased through it and latched on to Sasuke. The Darkness from the creatures engulfed them and surrounded the Uchiha in twin spheres of pure dark energy. Their cries of pain soon faded and when the spheres disappeared and presented them, Naruto was left shocked at what he saw.

Obito had become a large lion made of Darkness with glowing yellow eyes and sharp yellow fangs. As for Sasuke, he became a large winged creature that had a hawk's body, but the neck and head were that of a serpent. Like Obito, his body was pure lack, save for the eyes and fangs which were a bright yellow.

The two new creatures of Darkness turned to Naruto and bared their fangs at him, making the blonde tense and prepare to defend himself. However, it wasn't needed as dark puddles appeared beneath them and they sank into them, leaving without a trace.

As soon as they were gone, the land surrounding Naruto became engulfed in what could only be described by him as an enormous dark puddle with him standing in the only unaffected area. However, the area was slowly getting engulfed as well and he began to panic. _'Kurama, what do we do?!'_

The fox growled as it wracked its brain for any ideas. Soon, one came to it and it began to mold its energy in a way it never did before. The blonde felt the fox's power form in his right hand and looked to see a swirling mass of red and white energies. **"Quick, before I lose focus, slam your hand on the ground and unleash the energy! We're leaving this world!"**

' _What do you mean?! Why are we leaving when we could try and save others?!'_

" **Kid, trust me… They're already gone… You're all that's left. Now slam your hand and let's get out of here!"**

Naruto cursed as a tear left his eyes. He then slammed his energy-filled hand on the ground beneath him and unleashed the power within it. He was then surrounded by the energy and felt his body fade away. Before he fully disappeared, he whispered out, "I'm sorry…"

[End Flashback]

' _I remember now… My world was engulfed in Darkness and I had to leave… But then, what happened to Kurama?'_ he thought while he looked to the KeyBlade in his hand. _'Did he become this…weapon? If so, why a KeyBlade and what exactly can this thing do?'_

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft gasp and he turned to see a beautiful young woman standing about fifteen feet from him.

She had bright blue eyes like his and short, blue hair that reached her shoulders and framed her heart shaped face. She wore a black and blue, high-collared halter top with two pink, intersecting belts over her chest, and black shorts. She also had an odd silver badge similar to badges that looked to be a Heart above a Cross. On her arms were white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves. She also wore a small, segmented piece of armor on each of her upper arms and what appeared to be black stockings, or socks, on her legs which reached halfway up her thighs, leaving a small area of bare skin on her upper thighs. Her attire also bore two strips of blue cloth that draped over either side of her hips, along with a smaller, white strip of cloth tied around her waist and draped in the same manner. Finally, she had pointed, armored, silver boots with a sharp hook-like extension on the outer side of each.

He kept looking at her while she had her gaze on his weapon. _'A KeyBlade! But I thought that Ventus, Terra, and I were the only ones? He doesn't look like Sora or Riku either since Terra and I instilled some of our power into them… Who is he?'_

Naruto slowly and painfully rose to his feet, using his KeyBlade as a crutch to support him. "Hey, my name is Uzumaki Naruto," he greeted in hopes of having not stumbled upon an enemy in his weakened state. "May I ask yours?"

The woman was shaken out of her thoughts at his voice and she gave a small, friendly smile. "My name is Aqua, and I'm glad to have run into another Key Bearer in this place."

"Key Bearer? What do you mean?"

Her eyes widened in shock at his confusion. "You mean that you don't know what you're carrying?" she asked while pointing to his weapon.

He raised it up and looked to it in confusion. "You mean this thing? I heard a voice in my head call it a 'KeyBlade' but I still don't really know what the heck it is."

"A KeyBlade is a weapon used to fight off either the Darkness or the Light. Most are used to fight the Darkness, but there are still a few that go against the Light. Do you know what yours fights against?"

Once again, his face had a look of confusion before a voice whispered in his head again. It echoed, " _Rise up with the Light… Fight the Darkness…_ "

"It fights against the Darkness… At least, that's what that voice told me just now…" he answered her unsure.

To his relief, she smiled brightly at him. "That's good to hear. I'm actually glad that I found someone else in here. I was beginning to think I was stuck here alone…"

"Where is _here_ anyway?"

"This place," she began while waving her arm to their surroundings, "is known as the Realm of Darkness… I came here after I saved my friend from getting stuck here. I took his place and got stuck here in the process. What about you?"

"I…I don't really know… I mean, the last thing I remember was fighting in this war and seeing the Darkness slowly engulf my world. My friend gave me his power and mixed it with mine before I used it to leave my world. Next thing I know, I'm waking up on this beach with this KeyBlade in my hands."

"You were in a war?" she asked him in shock. "You don't look like you're even 20yrs old! Why were you fighting at such a young age?"

"I was fighting for peace," he said with narrowed eyes as he gazed out to the sea. His tone froze Aqua in place and she listened to him explain. "In my world, we're taught how to fight at young ages and how to protect our homes and precious people. I may be only 17 right now, but I still know things that most adults from my world don't even know. I know what it's like to fight for what is right…and how to lose those you love…"

Aqua's eyes turned sad at the bitter tone in his voice when he spoke of loss. It still amazed her that someone three years her junior could fight in a war, but then again Ventus was only 14 when he fought with her and Terra at the KeyBlade Graveyard against Xehanort and Vanitas. Hearing about a 17yr old fighting for those he cherishes and for peace wasn't that far-fetched.

"I'm sorry to hear that… I never thought you'd have to go through all of that."

Naruto turned to her and saw the regret in her eyes at her question. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and met her regretful eyes with his own slightly happy ones. "It's alright… I'd have to talk about it eventually and you didn't know. You don't have to apologize, Aqua."

Aqua met his small smile with her own and gave a small nod. "Alright, and if you need to, you could always talk to me about it."

"I appreciate that, Aqua."

She then looked to the unmoving moon on the horizon and sighed sadly. "It looks like we're going to be here a while."

Naruto sighed as well before the two sat on the shore; Naruto groaning slightly as his pain-filled body protested against the movement.

Aqua looked to him in concern and questioned, "Are you going to be okay?"

He clenched his eyes in pain as he finally sat on the ground. "Yea, I'll be fine after some rest. I just have some wounds from my last battle."

"If you're hurt, I can heal you," she offered as she summoned her KeyBlade, Stormfall, in a flash of light.

The guard was circular and somewhat jagged around its edges while the upper half of the guard was black, the center was gray, and the bottom of it was white. The handle was a featureless, gray rod and the shaft of the KeyBlade was thin and navy blue in coloration; except for the tip, which was silver. The base of the shaft also sported two diamond-shaped bumps and the teeth were comprised by a rectangular frame lined with four short, blunt spikes. This frame and the spikes were all navy blue. The teeth also had three silver pieces bent at right angles; two on the inside corners of the frame and one on the inside center of one side. The Keychain links and token resembled water drops in the rain.

"Just hold still and I'll fix you up," she said as she pointed the tip of her KeyBlade at him. " **Cure**!" she cried as a small flash of green light shot from her Key and hit Naruto. The blonde immediately felt his wounds close up and heal at a rapid rate. Five seconds later and his body was back at 100%.

He carefully moved various parts of his body and checked for any twinges of pain or any aches. It surprised him that there were none and he was perfectly healthy. "That's amazing… I feel better than ever!" he exclaimed with a smile. His smile turned into his famous fox-like grin as he turned to Aqua. "Thanks for that, Aqua-chan!"

Aqua smiled back at him before what he said rang through her ears. "What does 'chan' mean?"

"Oh, in my world, 'chan' is an honorific used for friends in terms of women. For men, the honorific is 'kun'."

"Y-You see me as a friend? But we just met," she asked in confusion.

"Hey, anyone who would selflessly heal me and speak to me as nice as you have is a friend in my book!" Naruto replied with his grin in place.

Aqua looked to him in slight surprise at how accepting he was before she smiled back. This young man in front of her was different… Not in a bad way, but still not exactly in a way she was used to. Most people she met weren't nearly as accepting as him, but he had this aura about him that just made you want to befriend him.

Her smile still in place, she reached her hand out to him and held it before him. When he looked to it and then her in confusion, she elaborated, "Well then, here's to a new friendship, Naruto."

His grin returned when he grabbed her hand and shook it.

That was the start of their friendship in the Realm of Darkness and they were happy to have someone to be beside in the lonely place. After some time, Naruto asked the KeyBlade Master to teach him how to better wield his own since he had zero experience with weapons other than kunai and shuriken. Since she had never taught anyone before, due to being a new Master, she was obviously nervous about teaching him. However, when she saw the drive in his eyes, she couldn't turn him down.

She started him off with basic stances and forms, to allow him to get a better feel with his weapon. After some time, she then had him move on to more advanced forms, but she found out that her style of "Flowing Combat" wasn't really suited for him. While she "flowed" around the battlefield, he shot through it like a bullet and used deceptive strikes to deal damage. So, she had him work with that and develop a "Trickster" style of combat that made him disorient the enemy with his speed before going in for unexpected strikes. He took to that kind of fighting like a fish to water.

The next thing she had him try was Magic. When she explained how Magic was drawing the power from your KeyBlade and using it in various ways, he told her about how his chakra worked in a similar manner. When he demonstrated with his **Kage Bunshin (shadow clone)** , she was left speechless at the display. It turned out that teaching him how to summon forth Magical Power was much easier since he was already used to drawing forth and utilizing energy. He even had a specialized element like she had. Where she had favored Ice and Healing Magic, he surprisingly favored Wind and Light Magic. His Light magic mainly came in the same form as Reflect magic, but it was also able to be utilized as a ranged attack. She was amazed at how prodigious he was with her teachings.

The final thing she taught him didn't use the KeyBlade. It was actually using the power of his KeyBlade to form a specialized Armor like she had. When he asked her about it, she pointed to the pieces she had on her and told him of how, when activated, it would cover his entire body for better protection against the Darkness and even let him survive the Doorways between other worlds.

When he asked her to show him hers, she complied and summoned forth her Armor. Her Armor was mostly colored in shades of silver, black, gray, and blue. Notable additions that Naruto saw included a silver breastplate resembling an upside-down crescent moon and a dark-visored helmet. Her helmet bore two prongs on either side, with her silver ones wrapping around the sides and angling diagonally downwards. She also wore a cape that was a dusty-rose color.

It amazed Naruto that she was able to summon forth something like that, but it confused him as to why she didn't use it to escape. Her answer was that the Armor she showed him was much weaker than her original which she used to get her friend Terra out of the Darkness. Once he understood that, they got to work on summoning forth his own Armor.

When they finally succeeded, Naruto stood before her in Armor that was mainly gold, black, and orange in coloration. His helmet, chest plate, and shin guards were gold in color while his arms and legs were covered in black. On his helmet were prongs like Aqua's Armor, but they were styled as fox-like ears and were trimmed with orange. His cape was rust orange, as was his visor.

When he finally succeeded in creating his own Armor, Aqua congratulated him and asked for him to let it recede into a small piece like hers when she wasn't using it. His small piece of the Armor was like Terra's; covering his entire left arm and leaving his hand and fingers bare. The coloring was black with an orange trim and a golden rounded piece that rested on his shoulder. However, Naruto noticed something different with his Armor. It was a mix of his chakra and the energy from his KeyBlade, resulting in a sturdier and self-repairing Armor. This surprised his teacher, but she was still glad that he had some added protection.

It was now what felt like a week after Naruto formed his Armor, due to their inability to determine time in the Realm of Darkness. The duo sat on the shore and gazed at the silvery moon like they had done many times before. It was nice being with one another after so long. They had easily established a strong friendship and even shared stories of their past with one another. Aqua had told him of her times with Terra and Ventus when they were still in training while Naruto told him of his early years as a Genin of Konoha. He had even trusted her enough to tell her of the Kyuubi that resided within hi. At first, she was incredibly surprised and skeptical of his claim, but he was able to explain how such a thing was possible and even told her that he suspected that Kurama had become his KeyBlade. When she looked at it and remembered that it was a Nine-Tailed _Fox_ that was sealed within him, she agreed that it was a high possibility that the fox had become Naruto's Key.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Naruto. He seemed to have aged about a year, though the two were still uncertain since they couldn't measure time. Still, his voice had become slightly more mature (1) as well as his facial features due to the loss of his baby fat. "I have my Armor now and you told me that a KeyBlade can become a Glider. Are we going to work on that next?"

"I'm not sure if you'll be able to make a Glider if Kurama is your KeyBlade, Naruto," she admitted to him sadly. She hadn't changed much during their time save for her feminine form becoming slightly more pronounced. "We may be stuck here for a while longer."

"That doesn't mean that we can't try!" he said in determination, making her smile. No matter how much he seemed to mature, that drive of his never lessened.

"Alright, we can try and see if it'll work. Although, I still don't think it will…"

" **Such little faith you have, Key Bearer,"** came a voice that Naruto instantly recognized.

"Kurama, is that you?" he asked excitedly.

" **Yea, it's me. Down here!"** he called out, making them look to Naruto's KeyBlade and see the fox head grinning at them. **"You didn't think you'd be able to get rid of me** _ **that**_ **easily, now did you?"**

Naruto laughed at that raised the tip of his Key so that the fox could see them better. "It's good to hear your voice again, Kurama."

" **Yea… Sorry I took so long to talk to ya, but I was restoring my power. But I guess you can't complain all that much considering the company you've had,"** the fox said with a grin.

The two blushed at the hidden message. "N-No, you got it all wrong! We're just friends, right Aqua?"

The bluenette nodded. "Y-Yea, we're just friends!"

The fox laughed at the duo and their blushing faces. **"Calm down, I was just joking. In all honesty, I am glad that you weren't** _ **completely**_ **alone while you were stuck here. Now that my power is restored, I believe I could get you two out of here and to the nearest world."**

Naruto fist pumped at the new while Aqua had a large smile on her face. In his happiness, the blonde grabbed the bluenette in a hug and twirled her around, making her blush at the action. When he realized what he was doing, he immediately set her down and took a step away from her with his own blush.

" **Well, now that you two are done hugging, let's get started. Naruto, throw me into the air and I'll take care of the rest."**

The Uzumaki nodded and threw his Key with all of his strength. When it was high enough, it was engulfed in a flash of light that blinded the two Key Bearers. When the light died down, a black and orange hoverbike was parked in front of them. It was big enough to seat two, had nine thrusters in the back, and the hood was in the visage of a large fox head. The two smiled at the ride out of the depressing realm and summoned forth their armor before they got on with Naruto in control.

" **You two ready?"** asked Kurama from a speaker on the HUD of the bike.

"Ready to go!" Naruto said with a grin hidden by his helmet.

"Let's get out of here!" Aqua exclaimed happily.

The bike jerked slightly before it rose a few inches off the ground. Naruto revved the engine and the bike flew up and out of the Realm of Darkness.

The adventure had begun for the two Key Bearers.

(End)

1~ Think of his voice like that of Axel's

And that, my lovable readers, is chapter one of a hopefully stellar story! I hope you all liked it! Please review and ask any questions via PM.

As for worlds (which I have no doubts you all are curious about), I'm going to focus on the Disney/Pixar Worlds that the KH series never bothered to add. I'll also throw in one world that is from a video game series! Hope you all enjoy it!

Next Time: The two Key Bearers arrive in their first world! Which one will it be? Stay Tuned!

-Daemon

P.S. Thanks to Pain17ification for letting me adopt this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification posting the next chapter of "Heart of a Ninja"!

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

" **Kurama Talking/Techniques"**

(Translations and A.N. Numbers)

[Scene Shift]

Chapter 2: Reclaiming What Was Once Lost

After a mind blowing ride through the Pathways between Worlds (well for Naruto anyway), the Jinchuriki and the Key Master approached a World that had an incredible amount of Darkness near its core. But it was not a hopeless World since there were also plenty of sources of Light within it as well.

"I wonder what that World is," Naruto voiced his thoughts.

"It looks familiar…" Aqua commented as Kurama flew down and entered the World's border.

When the two parked the hoverbike, they saw that they were near a mountainside which had an incredibly large yellow pipe running out of it and into the ground. There were stairs leading to a lower area and a mountainous pathway leading to another area.

"Well, I wasn't really expecting this when we landed," Naruto commented. "Where are we anyway?"

Aqua checked the HUD on Kurama and looked up any info on the World. "The only thing I can see is that this World is known as Hollow Bastion. But, there's something about this World that seems…familiar."

Naruto was about to ask her about it but he stopped when he felt something. It felt like…an energy signature. To him, it felt very familiar, but he was too far from it to be able to tell for sure. He looked to Aqua to see if she noticed it, but the bluenette seemed to be in deep thought over how familiar the World was to her. Meanwhile, Kurama faded in a small flash of red and reappeared in Naruto's hand in his KeyBlade Form.

" **Well, there's no use trying to wrack your brain on something when we can see if anyone can help us. I sense lots of life signatures that way,"** he commented as he forced Naruto's hand to point the Key's tip down the mountain path. **"Get a move on. You two have no food, supplies, or in Naruto's case, a better set of clothes."**

The two Key Bearers looked to Naruto's clothing and saw that it was ripped, caked in dry blood, and parts of it were barely held together. His jacket was so bad that, when the wind picked up, it ripped right off of him and flew away with the breeze, leaving Naruto in nothing more than his black shirt, torn orange pants, his kunai holster, and black sandals.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and sighed at his predicament. "Well, I can't go around the Worlds in nothing more than rags that won't hold. We might as well see if we can find anything."

"Right, and we should be able to find some people who can tell us about this place," Aqua added as the duo began walking down the path. Along the way, Aqua had Kurama fade back into Naruto so that no one would see the KeyBlade.

[Hollow Bastion Marketplace]

It was an uneventful walk to the town area of the World, which worried the two KeyBlade wielders greatly. This World had high levels of Darkness and they had assumed that they would have to fight their way into town. But they met no resistance and easily made it to the Marketplace.

"Something isn't right," Naruto whispered to his friend. "We should've run into _some_ kind of Darkness by now, right?"

Aqua looked around and saw the smiling faces of the people as they walked through the shopping area. "You're right… This is strange…and worrisome."

The duo stopped that train of thought when they finally reached a store that sold clothing. Naruto was about to step inside before the bluenette grabbed his arm. "What? I thought we were getting me clothes?"

"We can't get _anything_ without munny…" stated Aqua. "We're both broke, Naruto. How will we pay for anything?"

The woman's statement was like a smack in the face to the blonde. They had nothing! Just the clothes on their backs and their KeyBlades!

"Damn it… What do we do now?" asked the blonde.

Aqua sighed depressingly and began walking out of the shopping area with her friend. "Nothing we _can_ do except find some munny. The ironic thing is that I usually obtained munny when I defeated Unversed and they dropped it."

"The Unversed…had munny?" questioned Naruto with a confused look. "But they were creatures made by Vanitas and his power, right? How did they have munny?"

"I'm not sure of that myself, but I have a theory."

"I'm all ears at this point."

"If the Unversed had munny, why not the Heartless?"

During their time in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua had told the blonde of the creatures without hearts. These creatures born from Darkness traveled the Worlds and took the hearts of others in search of filling up the void that was once _their_ hearts.

Naruto hummed in thought over the idea before he grinned and nodded. "Alright, let's do it!"

[Hollow Bastion Bailey]

The duo quickly made their way outside of the village-like town and tried to sense out any form of Darkness. Like before, it was there but it wouldn't come out to face them.

"I don't understand… We should have seen _something_ by now," Aqua stated as she began to slowly pace around. Naruto was leaning against some rubble and focused on that familiar feeling he sensed when he and Aqua had arrived.

' _Why did it seem so familiar? I've never been to this World before… Hell, I didn't even know that there were_ other _Worlds besides my own.'_

" **Maybe someone from our World ended up here when Darkness swallowed up the Elemental Nations,"** Kurama suggested.

' _No… It doesn't feel like chakra; well not exactly like it anyway. It feels like…a life force from someone.'_

" **Hmm… The only thing I can suggest is for you and your girlfriend to check it out later."**

' _SHE ISN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!'_ Naruto mentally yelled while his face sported a blush. Still, he couldn't help but look at his friend pacing and admire her features. Her hair was as blue as sapphire, as were her eyes, she carried herself with confidence and strength, and she was the kindest person he had ever met.

Kurama saw this and smirked. **"Sure, you say that now, but I can tell that you're thinking about it."**

' _Maybe...'_ Naruto admitted. _'But I can't think about that now. I need to focus on helping Aqua help other Worlds.'_

Kurama sighed at his host and his inability to think about his own happiness. Naruto was a selfless soul who always put others and their needs before himself. He was the type of person who would sacrifice his own life without a moment's hesitation if it meant saving others. At least the man's father focused on his own happiness more than he did helping others.

"Hey, what do you two think you're doing out here?" asked a voice, making the two Key Bearers turn to the source.

They saw that it was a teenage girl with black hair and violet eyes. She wore an unzipped, dark grey combat vest with a black strap dangling from the right pocket overtop a navy blue tank top with white floral designs. The girl also wore a white wristband on her right wrist and a grey, fingerless glove on her left arm. Her shorts were slightly darker and had another black strap dangling from the left side. She finished off the ensemble with black, knee-high socks with white stripes at the top underneath dark tan boots that were slightly shorter than her socks.

"This place is dangerous, y'know? It's away from the town's defense system," she informed them.

"Defense system?" asked Aqua.

"Yea, we set up an automatic defense within the town so that any Heartless who show up will be in for a surprise," she answered with a grin. "By the way, the name's Yuffie; the Number Great Ninja Yuffie!"

"Ninja, huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "I'll be the judge of that. My name's Uzumaki Naruto and this here is Aqua."

"Pleased to meet you," the bluenette greeted.

"Nice to meet you two as well. And what do you mean by that earlier comment, Blondie?" questioned Yuffie with a raised brow.

Naruto chuckled before he disappeared into smoke, making Yuffie's eyes widen in surprise while Aqua rolled her own with a smile. "Show off," she muttered to herself.

"You see, I happen to be quite the ninja myself," Naruto said as he stood right behind the brunette. "Think you have what it takes to compete with a _real_ ninja, Yuffie-san?"

The ninja girl turned and saw the playful smile on his face and she grinned back. "I'm sure I can manage," she said before she jumped back and pulled out a large four-point shuriken almost half her size.

Naruto pulled out his single kunai in response since he didn't want to reveal he had a KeyBlade. The two stared one another down before Naruto smirked. "What do you say we make this more interesting?"

"I'm listening."

"If you win, I'll admit you're a better ninja than me and teach you a unique technique of mine."

"And if you win…?"

"You give me and Aqua enough munny to replace my clothes and get some supplies. Deal?"

"Deal!" Yuffie agreed with a smirk to match Naruto's.

Aqua sighed as she sat on some rubble and watched the two stare each other down. It was Yuffie who made the first move and flung her shuriken at the blonde before she covered the area in smoke pellets. Naruto easily ducked under the shuriken and blended in with the smoke just as Yuffie tried to get the drop on him with three hand-sized shuriken. She quickly grabbed her larger one and focused her hearing in hopes of finding the blonde.

Naruto meanwhile used the smoke to his advantage and created two clones and had them surround the ninja girl. One of them caught her attention by kicking aside some smaller pieces of rubble and she immediately threw her weapon at it. The clone let itself get hit and disappeared while the other one picked up her discarded smaller shuriken.

When the ninja girl went to see if she hit her target, she saw that her shuriken was stabbed into the ground and no one else was in sight. She went to grab her weapon before she heard the sound of air being cut through and jumped back, avoiding her stolen shuriken. "Hey, no using the other's weapons!" she called out into the smoke.

"We're ninja, remember? We use any means to win; even stealing our opponent's weapons," answered the clone while the original Naruto slowly made his way to her. The clone quickly rushed Yuffie in a blur of speed and got within her guard. She didn't have time to raise a defense as the clone slid under her legs and tripped her before disappearing in a plume of smoke. The next thing Yuffie knew was the feeling of steel against her neck. She looked up and saw the original standing over her with his kunai to her throat. "I win, Yuffie-san," he said with a smirk.

Yuffie pouted at her predicament and whined, "No fair…"

"Like I said earlier; we're ninja and we use any means to win. We don't play _fair_." He then helped her up and smiled to her. "Still, that was a fun fight. It's been a while since I faced another ninja. You're pretty good."

Yuffie smiled back. "Thanks, but you were still better. So, I guess I owe you two some munny, huh?"

Naruto surprised her by waving her off. "Nah, don't worry about it. We'll figure something out, right Aqua?"

The bluenette nodded. "Yea, we don't want to take your munny."

"A-Are you sure? I mean, I made a bet with you and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't fulfill my end of it."

"Absolutely. We'll just find another way to make some munny. Don't worry about it," assured the blonde.

Yuffie still looked unsure as she saw the two start to walk away from her. She then got an idea and ran up to them. "Hey, follow me!" she called out as she ran past them and made her way back to town. The two Key Bearers looked to one another before they followed her. They followed the ninja girl to a strange looking home within the Borough and went with her inside.

In the home were four other people. One was an elderly man with snow white hair and a mustache-beard combo that reached his lower legs. He had on a pointed blue hat and what the two assumed was an enlarged night shirt of the same color. He also had rounded glasses on his face.

The next person was a middle-aged blonde man with blue eyes and a toothpick in his mouth. He wore a white T-shirt with two buttons descending from the neck. His baggy pants were blue and had a very wide, orange waistband with thin, vertical stripes on it. The man's pants were worn rather high, with the waistband coming up to just under his ribcage and showed his gray socks and black shoes.

The third person was a woman with brown hair and green eyes. She wore a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wrapped around her neck. Underneath this top, she wore a pink dress with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom. She wore yet another dress underneath the first one; this dress being white and slightly longer than the first, reaching her shins. She also wore brown boots and her hair was long and styled into a braid down her back, with curls on either side of her face.

The last person was an adult male with brown hair and blue eyes. His hair swept slightly over the left side of his face and reached his shoulders in the back. He wore black gloves, black zipper-lined shoes, a silver Griever necklace, and a white undershirt under a short, black jacket with white fur lining the collar. The left shoulder of the jacket also had a red Griever symbol on it. He completed his attire with three brown belts on his left forearm and two brown belts in a crisscross fashion around his waist.

Yuffie smiled to the two Key Bearers and stated, "Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"

The brunette male turned his attention to them and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yuffie, what are you doing bringing these two here?"

"Aw, c'mon Leon! I met them earlier and challenged Blondie to a ninja battle!" she exclaimed exuberantly. She then sheepishly rubbed her head and finished, "But I lost to him in the end. So, I decided to help them out! I mean, look at him; his clothes are practically rags!"

The woman looked to Naruto and was surprised at how similar his facial appearance looked to another friend of hers. The only thing that could really tell them apart was the strange markings on his cheeks. She also sensed that his aura was slightly lighter than her friend's. "You beat Yuffie?" she asked in a soft voice.

Naruto looked to her and nodded with a small smile. "Yea, but she didn't make it easy for me. She's good, but she needs a bit more practice. By the way, my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"And my name is Aqua," said the bluenette. "We told Yuffie not to worry about helping us, but she insisted."

"Well you're okay in my book, kid," stated the elderly blonde. "Anyone who can put Short Stuff in her place is okay in my book."

"Hey, who asked you Cid?!" yelled the ninja girl.

"Now now, that's quite enough," said the oldest one in the room. "Now, I believe that Yuffie did the right thing in bringing them here. These two have the spark."

"What are you saying, Merlin?" asked Leon.

The now-named Merlin turned to the Key Bearers and asked, "Would you two be so kind as to show us your KeyBlades, please?"

The two gaped in surprise that he was able to tell they had Keys so easily. "H-How did you-?" started Aqua before Merlin raised a hand to stop her.

"I've been around for quite a while, my dear. I know who carries the spark of being a Key Bearer with just a glance nowadays. Now, if two would show us…"

The Jinchuriki looked to his friend for confirmation and she nodded. In twin flashes of light, their KeyBlades appeared in their hands.

"Extraordinary…" Merlin murmured. "I sense incredible power coming from your Keys, but the young man's is practically _radiating_ power. How is it that you can control such a high level of power, young man?"

Naruto rubbed his head in thought before he answered, "Well, I see my KeyBlade as a _partner_ and not as a tool or a weapon. I listen to it and take its opinions into account and it supplies me the strength needed to fight."

"You…communicate with your Key? How is that possible?"

Naruto shrugged in mock confusion and hoped that they bought it. No sense in letting them know that a giant Nine-Tailed Fox that was once sealed in his gut is now his KeyBlade.

"Either way, this is great news," said the brunette woman. "They can help out Sora and the others."

"Sora?" asked Aqua in surprise. She had met the boy years ago on the Destiny Islands and told him about friendships and how powerful they were.

Yuffie took the surprise a different way and answered, "Yea, he's another KeyBlade wielder who goes to other Worlds and deals with the Heartless there. You two can help him out!"

"How do we even know that they're on our side?" asked Leon. "Their Keys could serve the Darkness."

"Quit being so negative, Leon," admonished the other brunette.

"I'm just saying that we don't know anything about them, Aerith. I'm not being negative, I'm being cautious."

"Well I trust them," stated the newly named woman. "They have Light flowing within them and I can see that they're good people."

"How can you trust them when all we know are their names and that they're KeyBlade wielders?"

Aerith didn't answer him and stood in front of Naruto, her green eyes staring deep into his. Naruto was a bit unnerved and Aqua felt something unknown bubble within her. Aerith kept looking into his eyes before a smile crossed her face. "You're a very selfless person, Naruto."

He raised a brow at the random comment. "Excuse me?"

"You don't care if you die fighting for your loved ones so long as they're kept safe… You put others and their happiness before your own… And you have this gift of bringing the best in people… You're very…unique."

" **Wow… She's either a very impressive empath or she saw parts of your past. It only took her two minutes to figure all of that out,"** commented the fox mentally.

' _Yea… No kidding.'_

Aerith kept her smile as she turned to the others. "They're trustworthy. Cid, give them some munny, and Leon, take them to the old lab."

The elder blonde nodded while Leon looked confused. "What? Why do you want me to do that?"

"There's something there that they need; something hidden in Ansem's study."

Leon looked ready to argue more, but he just sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll take them after they get their supplies."

Aerith nodded with a smile and took the munny from Cid before giving to the duo. "After you get what you need, head to the Bailey. Leon will meet you there."

The two nodded and Yuffie suddenly popped up in front of them. "Also, take these!" she exclaimed before handing them cards. "You two are now official Restoration Committee Members!"

Naruto and Aqua looked surprised at that and the blonde asked, "Why? I mean, we just met today and, like Leon said, we don't really know each other."

Yuffie thrust the cards into their hands and smiled. "Aerith trusts you, and that's good enough for me. Besides, if you were really against us, then you would have killed me earlier. So, welcome aboard!"

Unable to come up with any other arguments, the duo just nodded and went to get their supplies.

[One Hour Later]

Leon sighed for the third time as he waited for the two newest Restoration Committee Members to show up. He knew Aerith had the best judgment in determining whether someone was trustworthy or not, but it was too coincidental. Sora leaving for a new adventure about a week and a half ago, a new group calling themselves Organization XIII shows up, and now two new Key Bearers show up out of the blue.

' _This can't be a simple coincidence… But, I can't figure out how it connects. Those two didn't look like they knew Sora at all. And if they're such powerful Key Bearers, according to Merlin, then where were they this whole time?'_

He was brought out of his thoughts when the duo finally showed up and the blonde was finally in decent clothing. He still wore his black sandals but he also wore dark gray cargo pants held up by a black belt, a rust orange T-shirt under a short-sleeved black jacket, and a black cloth around his forehead like a headband. Leon also noted that the jacket the blonde had was longer in the back than on the sides. While the sides reached his waist, the coattails reached the backs of his knees (1).

"Finally showed up, huh?" asked the gunblade wielder.

"Sorry, it took longer than we thought it would," Aqua said in an apologetic tone.

Leon waved her off and began making his way to the Postern which would take them to the hidden lab. "You two should know that we just recently found this place. We haven't really had much time to fully check it out."

"That's alright," Naruto stated. "I'm used to going into places practically blind. Thanks for taking us there though, Leon."

"Don't mention it."

It was a very quiet walk to them and, like earlier, no Heartless jumped in their path. Like the two had felt earlier, Leon knew that something wasn't right and his suspicion concerning the duo was slowly increasing. If they had such high levels of Light, then why was it that the Darkness wasn't trying to get them?

Aqua was both concerned and relieved that they hadn't run into any Heartless. Sure, not running into _anything_ was a great cause for concern, but she was glad that there wasn't a need to fight.

Naruto himself was feeling incredibly bored. He was all for having a peaceful walk, but he was starting to get a little stir crazy. He wanted to test his strength against some Heartless, but the damn things were nowhere in sight!

When they finally reached the Postern, Leon led them through the underground corridors and to a large doorway. He turned to them and said, "This is Ansem's office. Like I said earlier, we haven't had much time to search the place, so be careful. We don't know if the place is rigged with defensive traps or anything." The two nodded and followed Leon inside.

What greeted them was a circular room with a rounded table in the center, many bookshelves, and a large portrait of a man that made Aqua's eyes widen in surprise.

"Terra…?" she whispered and only Naruto heard her.

He looked at the portrait as well and tilted his head at the sight. "That's Terra?" he asked in the same hushed tone she used.

"It's what he ended up looking like after Xehanort took over his body."

Naruto shivered at that. _'Great… Another Orochimaru wannabe…'_

"That is Ansem the Seeker of Darkness," Leon stated. "He's the one responsible for most of the Heartless across the other Worlds. Sora and his friends took him down a year ago and we haven't heard from them until about two weeks ago."

' _Ansem?'_ thought the duo in confusion.

' _Why would he change his name when no one but me knew of Xehanort taking his body?'_ mentally questioned Aqua.

Naruto went back to looking at the picture and sensed the familiar presence he felt before coming from behind it. _'I wonder…'_ he thought before he moved the portrait aside and the trio saw a worn out keypad next to a slightly opened door.

"Well what do you know?" Leon commented. "Never thought that he'd actually hide a door behind his own portrait…"

"Aqua, there's something down there…something that feels familiar," informed the blonde before he summoned his KeyBlade.

Aqua focused her senses down the doorway and sensed a faint presence that felt…like hers! Without another word, she made her way through the door and down a metal stairway followed by her friend.

"Leon, keep searching the office!" Naruto called back. "There could be some things we missed."

"Got it, but be careful down there," he called back.

The two Key Bearers made their way down deep underground for what felt like ten minutes while the presence's energy signature was growing stronger and stronger. They finally reached a metallic sliding door and opened it revealing an open white room with a circular tank big enough to hold a person inside of it. And in the tank…

"Is that…your Armor?" Naruto asked.

Aqua slowly approached the Armor and pressed her hand against the tank. "Yes…it is. But…I sense a great Darkness coming from it."

"Well, we can't just leave it here," Naruto stated as he walked up to a small keypad next to the tank and pressed the "Open" button. The tank drained the water suspending the Armor before the glass casing sunk into the floor and the Armor fell to the floor. "There we go. Now we can-"

" _Darkness..._ " came a voice that sounded like Aqua's but it was slightly distorted. " _It's all around me… It feels so cold. This power; it… it feels familiar…_ " The Armor then focused its visor covered helmet at Naruto. " _But… No…you're not the one. You're not the one I have chosen. Ven…Terra… Where are you…? I miss you._ " A dark blue aura soon covered the Armor and it began to rise to a standing position." _Xe…ha…nort… Xehanort… Xehanort! What have you done to them?! Give them back to me!_ "

It then summoned Aqua's old KeyBlade, Rainfell, into its right hand and got into a ready stance. Around the room, a barrier covered the walls and doorway, preventing any escape.

" _Give them back, Bringer of Darkness!_ "

(Play "Kingdom Hearts OST: Darkness of the Unknown; Vs. Dragon Xemnas")

Aqua and Naruto readied their Keys and waited for the Armor to make the first move. The Armor charged at them and swung its Key, releasing many shots of **Blizzard** at them. The two rolled out of the way and Aqua shot **Fire** magic at the Armor while Naruto used **Aero** to increase the power of the flame.

The Armor used **Reflect** to block the combo spell and send it back at them. However, Naruto countered with **Light** and the inferno disappeared as it hit the small light beam. Naruto then summoned four **Kage Bunshin** and had them rush the Armor.

" **U…zu…ma…ki**!" called out the clones as it kicked the Armor higher into the air. The real Naruto was above it, spinning to gain momentum, and swung his Key down with a cry of, " **Naruto Kagiken Rendan** (KeyBlade Barrage)!" the fox-like KeyBlade struck the Armor and sent it crashing back to the floor.

Just as it was about to hit the ground, Aqua fired a **Blizzara** shot at it and froze it in place. "There… That ought to do it," she said with a slight pant.

Within the ice, the Armor's dark blue aura changed to midnight black and it broke the icy prison with a wave of power.

(Play "Kingdom Hearts OST: Darkness of the Unknown; Vs. Armored Xemnas")

" _I won't stop until I save my friends from you, Xehanort!_ " called out the Armor as it rushed Naruto and threw its KeyBlade at him. The Key whirled through the air and clashed with Naruto's in a power struggle. The Rainfell Key was spinning at high speed and slowly pushing Naruto back. " _Give up Xehanort and tell me what you've done with them!_ "

Naruto grit his teeth and summoned **Light** magic into his Key. "I…am not…Xehanort!" he cried as he swung his Key and made the Rainfell fly back towards the Armor.

The Armor easily caught it and shot a **Fira** spell at the blonde. Naruto retaliated with a **Light** spell used as a defensive barrier. The barrier absorbed the flame, changing it from red-orange to reddish-white and he fired it back at the Armor. The Armor was about to block, but Aqua distracted it with a **Blizzara** spell and caught its right leg in an icy prison. Unable to move, the Armor took the **Light** enhanced **Fira** head on and was blasted back into the wall.

Naruto and Aqua stood next to one another and pointed their Keys at the Armor simultaneously. Their pointed KeyBlades were covered in two auras; bright blue with a white outline for Aqua and snow white with an orange outline for Naruto. " **Holy**!" the duo called as they fired their auras at the Armor. The mixed energies fused together and became bright blue with streaks of orange and white before they hit the Armor. A cry was heard from it as the energies slowly destroyed the Darkness used to taint it. It slowly rose into the air and let out another cry as the Darkness erupted from it and dissipated into the air.

" _Thank you…_ " whispered the Armor as it fell lifelessly back to the floor.

(Stop Music)

Both Key Bearers were panting at the loss of adrenaline as they made their way to the Armor. Aqua knelt down next to it and tapped the helmet with her KeyBlade, making it fade in a flash of light. When the light died down, Aqua stood in her full Armor and Naruto easily sensed how much more powerful the original was compared to the substitute she had before.

"Alright, we got your Armor back!" cheered the blonde. "Isn't it great?"

Aqua sealed away her Armor and smiled at her golden haired friend. "Yes… It's great, and I feel like I have my old strength back again."

"Awesome! Now we can head back up and let everybody know that things are alright down here."

The bluenette nodded and they made their way back up.

[Merlin's House; Half an Hour Later]

"Well, I must say that I'm glad that you two were able to get rid of that source of Darkness. However, it seems that all of that Darkness your Armor was forced to contain was actually keeping the Heartless at bay from the city since they were more drawn to it. Now that the Darkness has been eliminated from the Armor, the Heartless will soon resume their attacks on the town," Merlin stated after the KeyBlade Duo told the others what had happened.

"Will you need us to stay and help fight?" asked Naruto in concern.

Yuffie waved his question off with a smile. "Nah, don't worry about it so much Whiskers! We'll be just fine!"

Cid and Aerith nodded while Leon said, "What you two need to do is focus on helping out the other Worlds and the Darkness affecting them. If you happen to meet Sora along the way, be sure to lend him a hand."

"Alright, we'll help him if we see him," Aqua stated with a nod.

"Yea, we'll be there for him. But you all better hold the fort here!" Naruto added, making the others chuckle at his outburst.

"I don't think that'll be too big of a problem," Leon said with a smirk.

"Yes yes, everything will be fine," Merlin confirmed. "Now off you go! Be sure to help out as many Worlds as you can! We need all of their support in this fight!"

"Got it!" Naruto said as he turned his KeyBlade into his fox-themed hoverbike and Aqua changed hers into a floating bow-platform fusion with the bow part acting as the steering mechanics. "We'll see you all again!" called out the blonde as he shot out of the World's border.

"Take care!" Aqua called while she followed him and the others waved bye.

It was on to the next World, and the next chapter of their adventure!

(End)

1~ Think any of you can draw him for me? I'll be sure to reward you! ^_^

And that, my loveable readers, is chapter two of this story! I hope you all liked it! Please review and ask any questions via PM.

Next Time: The two Key Bearers head off to handle the Darkness of another World! Which one will it be? Stay Tuned!

-pain17ification


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